JACKSON - The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and
Parks (MDWFP) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)
recently stocked 2,020 paddlefish fingerlings into the Bouie River
near Hattiesburg. MDWFP and USFWS have been working together
to assess and restore paddlefish stocks in the Pascagoula River
drainage. Partially funded by a State Wildlife Grant through
the USFWS, adult paddlefish were collected from the Bouie River in
March, transported to the Private John Allen National Fish Hatchery
in Tupelo, and successfully spawned.

"We have been working diligently with the USFWS to collect, tag,
and genetically identify paddlefish stocks in the Pascagoula River
and its tributaries," said Lauren Thayer, MDWFP Fisheries
Biologist. "Our goal is to collect adult paddlefish endemic to the
Pascagoula River system and use their offspring to supplement the
native paddlefish stocks." According to Thayer, another
2,500-3,000 paddlefish will be released into the Pascagoula River
this fall.

For more information regarding fish or fishing in Mississippi,
visit our website at www.mdwfp.com
or call us at (601) 432-2212.